Glossary

Warsaw Pact

Created in 1955 by the Soviet Union and the seven Central European countries—Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland and Romania—this military and political security alliance was the counterpart of NATO. It was formally dissolved on 1 April 1991.

waveform

In the CTBT context, waveform data is seismic, infrasound or hydroacoustic data. These data's graphic representation are in the shape of waves showing the changes in amplitude over a certain amount of time.

Weapons of mass destruction

Nuclear, biological or chemical weapons. These are weapons which can kill large numbers of people and/or cause great damage to man-made structures (e.g. buildings), natural structures (e.g. mountains) or the biosphere in general. (Source:Wikipedia)

Weapons-grade

Refers to nuclear material that is most suitable for the manufacture of nuclear weapons; e.g., uranium (U) enriched to 90% U-235 or plutonium (Pu) that is over 93% Pu-239. Crude weapons can be fabricated from lower-grade material.

Weapons-usable material

Refers to nuclear material that is most suitable for the manufacture of nuclear weapons; e.g. uranium (U) enriched to 93% U-235 or plutonium (Pu) that is over 90% Pu-239. Crude weapons can be fabricated from lower-grade material.

WEB-GRAPE

Web connected graphics engine, a software that uses both waveform and radionuclide data to identify possible emission points on the globe for a detected radionuclide event. The software builds on results of atmospheric transport modelling, which calculates the travel path of a given radionuclide, using meteorological data.

WMD

Same as weapons of mass destruction

WMD Commission

The international Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission (WMDC) was set up in 2003 to propose realistic solutions aimed at the non-proliferation and ultimate elimination of all weapons of mass destruction. The Commission was headed by the Swedish diplomat, Dr Hans Blix, and its 14 members were all renowned experts in the non-proliferation and disarmament field. Funding was provided mainly by the Swedish Government. In a report submitted to the United Nations Secretary-General on 1 June 2006 entitled “Weapons of Terror”, the WMDC stated: “The single most hopeful step to revitalize non-proliferation and disarmament today would be ratification of the CTBT by all states that have nuclear weapons.” In particular, Israel, Egypt and Iran were urged to ratify the Treaty “to advance the security interests of all states in the Middle East”, and the United States, whose “ratification would trigger other required ratifications and be a step towards the treaty’s entry into force”. India and Pakistan were also encouraged to ratify the Treaty and “join those other states with nuclear weapons that have declared a moratorium on the production of fissile materials for weapons.” The WMDC report further recommended that all Member States should provide financial, political and technical support for the CTBT’s verification regime.